Despite earning the World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight title in 2007, defending it three times and producing some of the promotion’s best fights in that span, the 24-year-old is content to start anew in the big show of the UFC.

“I think this is the natural progression for my career,” said Condit, who was unbeaten in five WEC starts. “I feel like I’m in the mix of a lot of other guys that are trying to make a name for themselves, and for me, that’s motivation to really climb.”

Condit’s shift to the UFC, after Zuffa disbanded WEC’s 170-pound division, coincided with his decision to change training camps. While he had tremendous success training in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., Condit was anxious to further evolve as a fighter.

“I was feeling a little burned out in Albuquerque,” he said. “I was looking for a change. I felt like I wasn’t improving anymore training there. The reason I went to Arizona Combat (Sports) is that they have a lot of guys that excelled in the places where I needed work on in my game. Specifically, they have a lot of talented wrestlers out here.”

Initially, Condit said the transition to Tempe-based Arizona Combat Sports was difficult. However, he and his fiancé have settled into a new routine, and Condit believes the move to new coaches and a different set of training partners is the next logical step in his career development.

His bout against Martin Kampmann Wednesday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 18 in Nashville, Tenn. will be his first without longtime trainer Tom Vaughn in his corner. In Vaughn’s place will be Arizona Combat Sports’ Trevor and Todd Lally.

Such a major change for a UFC debut might leave some fighters anxious, but Condit downplays any speculation about pre-fight angst.

“I’m very confident in the way they prepared me, and I think I’m going to do fine with them in my corner,” said Condit (22-4 MMA), who hasn’t lost since June 2006 in racking up eight consecutive victories. “They are very, very technical. My former school’s technical, but I think Trevor’s a little bit more technical as far as the stand-up. I’ve been able to tighten up a lot of things as far as my basics here at Arizona Combat.”

A change of scenery also has worked well for Condit’s UFC Fight Night 18 opponent.

At Mike Pyle’s urging, Kampmann, 26, picked up his life in Denmark and relocated to Las Vegas earlier this year, after splitting training time between his home and Xtreme Couture.

“The main difference between that and Denmark is I had some good training partners, but it was guys that aren’t full-time fighters,” Kampmann said. ” It would be guys with jobs and kids and a lot of other stuff. Sometimes it was a hassle to set up training camp. Now, when you have a gym full of other full-time, professional fighters, there’s always going to be somebody to work with when you come down to the gym. Now, I’m able to do what I love full time.”

Kampmann’s move from middleweight, following his UFC 88 loss to Nate Marquardt, also has panned out thus far.

Cutting to 170 pounds was not difficult for the 6-foot fighter, and a victory over Alexandre Barros at UFC 93 made the cut even more palatable. Now, he’s landed a golden opportunity with the bout against Condit. It’s a chance to beat a consensus top 10 welterweight in the world and to notch his most notable victory since beating Thales Leites back in 2006.

“He’s well-rounded and a long, lanky guy, so I got to get in on him to hit him,” Kampmann said in sizing up Condit. “I got some tall guys to spar with. I just got to move my head and get in on him and use knees in the clinch, too. I think we’re going to match up well.”

Elsewhere, the UFN 18 card delivers the usual heavy helping of alums from “The Ultimate Fighter,” with Ryan Bader, Junie Browning, and Cole Miller in the mix. Season-eight winner Bader (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) faces former heavyweight Carmelo Marrero in one of the other three scheduled televised matches.

The fight has the makings of an intriguing test for Bader, a two-time All-American and three-time Pac 10 champion in wrestling at Arizona State. Bader could be part of the UFC’s future at 205 pounds, and Marrero represents a stout litmus test.

“I think I’m a little better wrestler,” Bader said. “I think he’s going to come in and try to take me down, though. Sometimes, it does neutralize your wrestling and it becomes a stand-up battle. I’m actually coming into this fight with no game plan, which is nice for a change. I’m going to go in there and use all my skills.”

Marrero (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was cut by the UFC after consecutive losses to Wilson Gouveia and Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 71 and 66, respectively, but earned a second shot after going 4-0 since with one no-contest.

Griffin is coming off a three-round war with Sean Sherk that earned Fight of the Night honors at UFC 90. The loss was a tough setback for Griffin, who despite noteworthy wins over Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares and Gleison Tibau, seems stuck in the second tier of UFC 155-pounders. However, the Xtreme Couture fighter believes his performance in the Sherk fight proved a point.

“I still felt like at the end of the day, I was the better fighter … more conditioned, and if I had two more rounds, I could have pushed the pace and won two rounds,” Griffin said. “Maybe I gave him too much respect in that first round … little things that proved to myself that I belong in the upper echelon.”

A victory over Dos Anjos won’t do much to change Griffin’s status in the division. It’s a fight he’s expected to win to set up a bigger match-up later in the year.

UFN 18 marks the UFC’s first trip to Nashville, as the promotion continues to open up new markets with the UFC Fight Night series. “TUF,” which spawned the UFN series, debuts its ninth season (“The Ultimate Fighter 9: U.S. vs. U.K.“) following the live card on Spike TV.

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